Fergus Falls has plenty of Midwest charm to keep the whole family busy!

Besides the ample year round hunting and fishing opportunities Fergus Falls also offers up a wide variety activities for the whole family.

The Fergus Falls area has a rich history as a unique area filled with lakes left behind from the glaciers that is poised where the Dakota prairies and the red river valley meets the forests, lakes, swamps and hills of west central Minnesota. This area was home to the Ojibwa and Souix indians and later the early American settlers, and now it’s in the heart of America’s breadbasket that produces corn, beans and potatoes.

I’ll list a few of my favorite unique activities and the seasons they revolve around..

Spring heralds the approach of tourism with the opener of fishing and memorial day, this also kicks off garage sale season! It’s really fun to make a day of hitting up garage sales and thrift stores in search of a new favorite garment, a piece of furniture or classic piece of artwork to decorate the cabin with. There are also several antique stores nearby with a wide variety of treasures looking to be found. Fergus Falls is also fortunate to have the Prairie Wetlands Learning Center, an environmental learning center that offers a great opportunity find out more about our glacial lakes region. For those interested in watching some unique birds do their mating dances, check out the greater prairie chickens. They gather at Leks or “booming grounds” to do their bizarre rituals, the birds are extremely wary and you can reserve a viewing blind through the MN DNR but you’ll need to reserve the blind well in advance, get there early, bring some binoculars and enjoy the show.

Another fun spring outdoor activity is to visit the walleye spawning station found on Walker lake. The spawning walleyes from OtterTail lake are gathered up in pens, stripped of their eggs and milt and returned to the water again. It’s a free activity and fun to watch the trophy sized fish that live in Ottertail lake and it’s river system. The observation docks and free tours are available at the station and it’s interesting to see how eggs are fertilized and hatched to be used for stocking nearby lakes.

In recent years many of the dams that were located on the Ottertail river have been removed, this has allowed for a big comeback of lake sturgeon which have been known to travel hundreds of miles. They also spawn in the springtime usually around late may and it’s really fun to watch 4-5 foot long fish mating below the bridges at Ottertail, Rush and Big/Little pine lakes.

Best Local Eats-A spring Smelt fry can be a fun event that only happens during spring time when they are freshly harvested from the the great lakes. Several area towns host a yearly smelt feed like Fergus Falls, Ashby and Parker’s Prairie. Friday night fish fry’s are also a popular local event and many can be found here Friday Fish Fry Guide. Meat raffles are another popular hometown event dating back to WWII and are held at the Fergus Falls VFW every friday and a few other local establishments as well. The Viking Cafe has been in making fantastic breakfasts for over 50 years and is well worth the stop, Oh and the pies are great for dessert. Another famous landmark only open in summer is the Dairyland, first opened in 1955 offers cheese curds, burgers and ice cream in a traditional drive-in experience.

Summer : As things warm up and summer approaches the lakes become busy with fisherman, water skiiers and pleasure boaters. Tubing from Ottertail bridge just down from Zorba’s down to Deer lake can make for a fun afternoon and you can rent kayaks, canoes and bicycles from Glendalough state park and other area resorts and businesses. The Fergus Falls area has several golf as well disc golf courses in the area. Besides plenty of lakes to swim in Fergus Falls is also opening up a new splash pad water park in 2024 and a new swimming pool in 2025. June is also a time for fly-ins where area pilots fly into a small airport to show off their flying machines and enjoy a pancake breakfast. The young eagles hosts a fly-in at the Fergus Falls airport in early June and kids can get up in the air for a free plane ride that day. Battle lake also hosts a fly-in pancake breakfast with several classic war birds from days gone by.

Another popular event is the local farmer’s market, Fergus Falls also just completed the Spies riverfront park that hosts the farmer’s market among other events like live music along the river downtown. The West Ottertail county fair takes place the 3rd week of July and there plenty to do and see for the whole family. Many small area communities hold annual festivals like the Phelp’s Mill Festival, Vining’s Watermelon days and Battle Lakes’ Chief Wononga days. There are also several summertime classic car shows in Fergus Falls as well as area rodeos and races for those that are interested..

For those with kids the Fergus Falls public library has some great programs the there is a brand new playground just across the street. The Otter Cove Children’s Museum has something for the littles as well as older folks including local artwork decorating the walls. Some fun easy hikes include the downtown riverwalk and the broken down dam park.

As summer winds into autumn the fall leaves are worth checking out and the fall bird migrations can be seen and heard on local waters and the skies above. For those interested in farming history the town of Dalton hosts a steam threshers show the first week of September. Maplewood State park has a fall apple festival where the changing leaves are in full swing. Fall marks the beginning of the school year so football and other fall sports are worth checking out on a crisp autumn evening.

Charles Beck was a local artist and art instructor at the local community college. He made sure that his art will always be displayed in Fergus and The Kaddatz Gallery is home to many of his works as well as other local talented artists. You can also find several Beck originals at M-State where he taught as well as at the Public Library and Lake Region Hospital.

Winter time hosts a variety of outdoor activities. Cross country skiing, snowmobiling, icefishing is a major draw as are local ice fishing derbies. The Underwood ice races are also popular Sunday afternoon winter events in the area.

Hopefully this sheds some light on some local activities in the Fergus Falls area. For more information and things to do check out the Visit Fergus Falls and OtterTail Lakes country websites. Welcome, I hope to see you out and about in the neighborhood!